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10:38

Peugeot 205

Gérard Welter · 1983

The Peugeot 205 is a supermini developed from Projet M24 and launched on 25 February 1983. It replaced the Peugeot 104 and Talbot Samba. Its styling is an in-house design by Gérard Welter — not Pininfarina, who only styled the Cabriolet. It used MacPherson struts at the front and trailing arms with torsion bars at the rear. The rear suspension was designed to minimise intrusion into the boot, giving a wide flat loadspace while providing excellent ride and handling. It won What Car?'s Car of the Year for 1984 and was declared 'car of the decade' by CAR Magazine in 1990. It is often credited as the car that turned Peugeot's fortunes around.

10:12

Subaru Impreza

Subaru · 1993

The 1993 Subaru Impreza redefined compact all-wheel drive by combining a low-slung boxer engine with rally-ready traction. It succeeded the Leone, launched with EJ-series engines, and became the foundation for WRX and STI legend.

9:48

Subaru WRX

Subaru · 1994

The 1994 Subaru WRX is the first-generation production expression of Subaru’s 1992 World Rally Championship effort. It is a turbocharged, all-wheel drive compact saloon built on the Impreza GC platform. Its blue-and-gold livery stems from a Singaporean cigarette sponsorship. It established all-wheel drive as a performance asset in the US compact segment—starting with its 2001 US launch—and forced rivals to follow.

9:15

Volkswagen Scirocco

Giorgetto Giugiaro · 1974

The 1974 Volkswagen Scirocco is the first mass-market front-wheel-drive sport compact styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. It established the visual language for what a hot hatch could be — before the term existed.